


There’s a heart inside that scary armour

by Prawnperson



Series: Submarine series [3]
Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Also lmao how oblivious can you be, F/M, I nicked the title off Wander over Yonder but, Walani’s prank backfires, a bit - Freeform, it fits, kind of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 08:27:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19103404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prawnperson/pseuds/Prawnperson
Summary: Everyone is scared of something, from tiny spider children to soulless automatons.





	There’s a heart inside that scary armour

They’ve been hanging out for a couple of days now, WX-78 and her. Mainly since Winter’s feast. The weather is gradually beginning to get warmer, but not yet as cloying and heavy as the summer atmosphere. It seems to be putting the robot in a slightly better mood, because every time she goes to him, his face practically lights up.

So, whenever she asks him a simple question one evening as they’re sitting around the fire along with the other survivors, she does not expect him to react so strongly.

“Hey, are you afraid of the water?”

WX’s face falls immediately, any previous amiability now vanished. He stops sharpening his spear mid strike, almost as if some kind of switch has been flicked inside of him to turn him onto standby.

“NO. I AM NOT. I AM NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING.”

The answer finally comes. Walani is dissatisfied. Nobody is afraid of nothing, something her grandmother assured her of long before she came to the constant. Willow is frightened of the cold, Wolfgang is scared of the dark, Webber has a justified fear of pigmen. She herself fears jellyfish. She is certain that WX is lying-and if he’s afraid of anything, it’s water.

“You have to be scared of something, man. No judgement, honest.”

WX tenses up again even further and Walani swears she can hear a pop from somewhere within him like a spring snapping. 

“I DO NOT...ENJOY THE WATER. IT IS AN UNNECESSARY HASSLE.”

Walani makes a doubting noise in the back of her throat but drops the subject, unwilling to send him into one of his five day sulks, and they go back to talking about their usual nonsense.

——

It happens almost a week later. They had been sent out together to try and fish up blueprints. While WX-78 made his hatred for the water known frequently around the camp, he had recently refused to work with anyone other than Walani, and she was one of the best when it came specifically to navigating the water.

So now, here they sit. They’re floating over a dark, calm sea in a dark wood boat. Wilson had made it with some perfecting touches coming from Woodlegs, and at present it’s the best in the constant.

None of this makes WX feel better, though. He hates this. Hates it with a passion. They’ve never been out on the ocean for this long, just sitting. Seemingly waiting for something to come and swallow them up. There’s a pile of wet garbage beside his feet, curled up paper and scraps of metal and rocks Walani claimed “looked cool”.

“Aw, hey, don’t get in a huff.”

WX snaps his head up, arms still folded over his knees as her scowls over at her, barely masking his nerves. 

“I AM NOT HUFFING. THIS IS A WASTE OF TIME.”

Walani smirks at him and pulls up another hunk of sodding wet trash. She peels it away from the hook with a grin and tosses it onto the rest of the pile, WX narrowly avoiding the excess drips of water.

“Relax, WX. I’m great with the water. You know that.”

WX lets out an annoyed sound. Walani bites her lip on a grin. Hm, maybe she can work with this. She thinks her plan out for a few seconds before making her decision, and suddenly she lunges forward dramatically, fingers flexing around the imaginary strain exerted on the rod.

“Oh, hell, WX, something’s got me!!”

WX’s eyes seem to flash with concern even though they’re hollow black.

“It’s really strong-it-it’s pulling at me!”

Walani pulls harder at the rod, miming a tug of war, and finally, expertly let’s herself be ‘dragged’ into the water. She tries her hardest not to laugh as she ducks her head underneath the water, curling under the boat, just barely out of sight.

She emerges a few seconds later, beaming from ear to ear, letting out a laugh.

“What did I tell y-“

She stops dead whenever she sees the splintered wood at the edge of the boat where WX is gripping it, shaking all over, face painted with all the colours of unhappiness.

“TAKE ME HOME.”

Walani’s face falls as she treads the water, unable to summon up any words to say. She’s never seen him like this, never. 

“I DO NOT WANT TO BE HERE ANYMORE. I DO NOT WANT TO BE ON THE OCEAN.”

Still unspeaking, Walani hoists herself back onto the boat, now soaking the wood of the deck. She sits down on one of the planks set up as a seat, next to the oars, still watching WX-78 quiver.

“Hey, dude, I’m sorry, I thought-“

“TAKE US BACK TO CAMP.”

“Are you...are you frightened?”

Finally, WX snaps at her, making an unusual noise like static popping somewhere inside his chest.

“I WANT TO LEAVE. NOW!”

——

Walani hasn’t seen WX-78 since they reached the mainland, holed up in his tent. She doesn’t want to risk it. She doesn’t notice the pitying looks she’s getting from Webber until he plonks himself down beside her.

“Have you upset MX. WX?”

Walani startles, but smiles whenever she sees Webber, letting out a small sigh.

“Yeah...I think I kinda did.”

Webber nods and begins to pick the petals off some flowers in front of him. 

“We heard them in their tent. They aren’t cross at you. Just a bit sad, we think. We know you didn’t mean to do it.”

The world grows darker around them, sun slowly fading away, trickling into darkness. It will be night soon. It’s technically past Webber’s bedtime.

“We’re getting a bit sleepy now, Miss Walani. Do you mind if I go to bed?”

Walani pats him gently on the back and shakes her head. 

“Not at all. Get some sleep.”

Webber grins that small, toothy grin, revealing his rows of fangs.  
He presses the stems of the flowers into Walani’s hands.

“You have to remember that there’s a heart inside that scary armour.”

With that he scampers off to his tent, leaving Walani alone on the cool grass, confused and with a hand full of bare flower stems.


End file.
